This invention relates to a recreational swing unit and more particularly to an indoor/outdoor lounge swing assembly comprising a family type lounge swing operatively suspended from an overhead supporting frame structure. The lounge swing is adapted to be easily assembled or dismantled for use in the yard or within the home.
Various types of conventional family type lounge swings are supported in use by support structures but unfortunately, can be unbalanced in use, are cumbersome to assemble, and are difficult to dismantle for storage purposes. For instance, quite often such swings utilize bolts or other permanent securing means to provide the necessary interconnections between the lounge swing and the supporting frame structure. Connectors to the swing itself as well as connecting means to the supporting structure must be disassembled and removed often causing partial dismantling of the swing or the supporting structure or both where such dismantling along with constant use subjects the swing assembly to unnecessary damage. Other recreational lounge swings are made for use outdoors or indoors, but do not have the versatility or portability to be useful for all seasons in the yard as well as in the home. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide a simplified swing assembly adapted to be easily assembled and conveniently portable for use outdoors or indoors.
It now has been found that a family lounge swing can be manufactured for indoor and/or outdoor use, which can be easily assembled and securely attached with minimal effort to an overhead support. The lounge swing understructure contains lateral supports fitted with snap-on connectors adapted to be easily snapped on to or removed from the understructure. The snap-on connectors enable supporting chains for the lounge swing to be securely connected to the snap-on connectors which eliminates the safety problem where inadvertent disconnection may occur during use. The supporting chains can be operatively interconnected to a permanent beam member secured inside the house or preferably interconnected to a free-standing, overhead supporting structure adapted to be freely movable for use inside or outside the house. The free-standing, overhead supporting structure can be easily assembled for use by securing a pair of A-frame type construction vertical leg members to both ends of an overhead supporting beam. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the overhead beam is fitted with permanently secured shoe clamps or slip brackets adapted to receive and secure each pair of vertical leg members in an A-shape construction to provide optimum balance and stability to the swing assembly during use. Further stability is provided in preferred aspects of the invention wherein each vertical leg member comprises a partially split and laterally spaced upper members adapted to slip fit into similarly laterally spaced shoe clamps secured to the overhead beam member. The laterally split upper leg members effectively distribute the downward and radially outward swinging forces and torques laterally along the overhead supporting beam thereby increasing the upright stability of the swing assembly against undesirable tipping in use. Each split upper leg member terminates in a lower unitary foot construction to provide increased strength and stability. In a further preferred aspect of the invention, a transverse portable shelf can be friction fitted between a pair of vertical leg members by engaging each vertical leg member between the split upper members to provide both a removable utility shelf and a transverse strut to further strengthen the A-frame leg members. The portable swing assembly is particularly useful inside the home such as in porches or dens or outside the home in the yard, at poolside, on the patio or even at campsites. These and other advantages of this invention will become more apparent by referring to the drawings and detailed description of the invention.